Cat of the Month, September 2019: Xerxes

Don’t let his kingmaker name fool you, Xerxes is truly the sweetest cat around and is, to this day, the apple of his dad’s eye.

Xerxes, an 11-year-old Domestic Shorthair, came to Seattle via a long-distance road trip with his dad from Philadelphia. Since then, they both have settled right in and now call this region home.

“When I adopted Xerxes or ‘xercs,’ he just seemed like the gentlest, sweetest kitten I have known, so I thought it would be fun to give him a warlord type name that was the opposite of who he was,” said Xerxes owner Henry.

Continued Henry, “I also often call him ‘my baby,’ though at 11-years-old he has definitely outgrown his baby names.”

Xerxes was adopted by his dad when he was just a tiny, precocious kitten. From day one, he was quite fastidious about being clean and was always easy going about getting his nails clipped and his hair brushed. In fact, cleanliness is such an issue with Xerxes that he will cry and cry if he feels his litterbox needs to be cleaned right after he is done. Always wanting everything tidy and in order.

As far as activity, Xerxes is pretty laid back and prefers sunbathing in a comfortable spot or getting a good scratch over most other activities. Just your typical lowkey boy.

The team at Rainier Veterinary Hospital met Xerxes when he was brought to us with a wound that had abscessed that needed to be repaired surgically. The procedure went quite well, but he did end up staying with us an additional couple weeks to recover while his owner was traveling. During that time, we had the chance to win this fussy little boy over and, in turn, he stole our hearts. Thought it was a perfect touch to name him our Pet of the Month!

About Our Cat of the Month Program

Here’s how our Cat of the Month program works: Each staff member provides a nomination for the distinguished honor, and then we vote. The highest vote wins! Any kitty patients who visit us during the prior month are eligible.